The Flag that Inspired our National Anthem

Discourse X, August 4,1932; Saint Germain

To Mrs. Ballard:           

     Again, may I express to you My Appreciation for the attention given to the National Anthem; for it has given Me an opportunity to do for America, the Jewel of My Heart, that which I have not had the opportunity to do since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

On a rainy September 13, 1814, British warships unleashed a downpour of shells and rockets onto Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, relentlessly pounding the American fort for 25 hours.

The bombardment, known as the Battle of Baltimore, came only weeks after British forces attacked Washington, D.C., burning the United States Capitol, the Treasury and the White House.

A week prior, Francis Scott Key, a 35-year-old American lawyer, had boarded the British fleet's flagship on the Chesapeake Bay, aiming to convince the enemy to release his friend, the physician William Beanes, who had been recently arrested.

Francis Scott Key’s tactics were successful, but because he and his companions had gained knowledge of the impending attack on Baltimore, the British did not yet let them go. Restricted to returning solely to their own ship, the Americans were closely monitored.

On September 13, Key and Beanes now watched as the barrage of Fort McHenry began some eight miles away.

Francis Scott Key later wrote - “It seemed as though mother earth had opened and was vomiting shot and shell in a sheet of fire and brimstone.”

However, as night fell, he witnessed only red bursting in the sky. Considering the magnitude of the assault, he was convinced the British would prevail.

The hours passed slowly, but in the clearing smoke of “the dawn’s early light” on September 14, he saw the enormous, yet tattered American flag, was still flying over Fort McHenry, announcing an American victory.

Francis Scott Key put his thoughts on paper while still on board his British-guarded ship, setting his words to the tune of a popular English song.

The Baltimore Patriot newspaper soon published it, and within weeks, his poem, now called “The Star-Spangled Banner,” appeared in print across the country, immortalizing his words and forever naming the flag it celebrated.

The flag that inspired Francis Scott Key’s composition still survives today, though it’s fragile and worn by time.

Initially loaned to the Smithsonian Institution in 1907, this iconic artifact is currently displayed in its own purpose-built gallery at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, situated at 1300 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC.